Breakdown
by GamblingDementor
Summary: Even war machines break down sometimes. Inspired by a fanart by CinnabunAni.


"Zhu Li? Zhu Li, where are you?"  
>Varrick's assistant immediately poked her head through the door of his study.<br>"Yes, Sir?"  
>"I can't concentrate anymore! It's tea time! Make us some of that green tea I love!"<br>"Yes, Sir."  
>Just as quick, her head disappeared and she was gone. Varrick shook his head. He had been working for hours straight, which he almost never did. Usually, either Zhu Li or his development team were charged of writing down and furthering his ideas. Today, though, he had decided to get a real feel of what it was like to work as an engineer and he did not like it one bit. He'd much rather just have the ideas himself and let others deal with them. He rubbed his temple, staring at the construction plans in front of him. It was too much, far too much work.<p>Waiting for the tea was boring. He knew he couldn't work anymore, not without a break, but a break without tea was useless. He tapped his fingers against the desk, growing impatient. A few minutes passed. It was not like Zhu Li to take so much time. He had hired her so many years ago because she was the most efficient assistant he had ever met and brewing a pot of tea should not take her so long.<br>"ZHU LI?" he shouted to make sure she heard him from the kitchen.  
>No answer came. He frowned. What might she be doing?<p>

The hall was empty when he stepped out of his study. He was slightly irritated when he opened the kitchen door wide.  
>"Zhu Li, it's been ten minutes since I asked for tea, what are you…"<br>His question died on his lips when he saw his assistant. Sitting on the floor, her arms on her knees with her head down, she was whimpering softly in the saddest of manners.  
>"Zhu Li, what happened? Are you okay?"<br>She lifted her head, saw him and hid her face back against her knees. He took a few steps toward her, looking around to see if anything was out of the ordinary. The teapot was knocked over on the table, a cup lay shattered on the floor.  
>"You dropped the tea?"<br>She didn't answer and turned her back to him.

Varrick was not used to people being hurt around him. In fact, he literally avoided them. He escaped his crazy girlfriends, paid people to entertain him, fired people for less than frowning. Hesitantly, he crouched beside Zhu Li and put his hand on her shoulder. No reaction.  
>"Zhu Li, speak to me."<br>She shook her head and he heard a sob. As much as this was not coming naturally to him, especially with his assistant, he crossed his legs, sitting fully on the floor, and put his arm around her shoulders. She tensed and let out a sob that was definitely louder than the previous one. He rubbed his hand against her arm, trying to be as soothing as he could.  
>"I'm here for you."<br>Slowly, heartbreakingly, she began to cry. He had never heard her cry before, or show any emotion at all, actually. Even if he was used to comforting people, he'd still be at lost because he did not know how to comfort her. He did not trust his judgement to know what to say and simply stayed by her side, and soon she was crying her eyes out, weeping on this sad kitchen floor.

The only thing he could do was hug her. At first, she took no notice of it at all. He rubbed her back, pulling her closer to him, his arms around her. Eventually, she accepted the embrace and hugged him back. Her hands gripped his back as she sobbed heavily against his chest. His chest was wet with tears even through his shirt but it didn't matter in the least. They would dry.  
>"There, there… Let it all out…"<br>"I'm… " she tried to say something but her sobs blurred the words.  
>He patted her back. It pained him to see her in such a state. The guilty thought came to his mind that it wasn't actually bad at all to hold her in his arms… Where did that come from? He'd never thought anything like that about Zhu Li before, and it was really not the best time to let his mind wander into that field.<br>"I'm…" she tried again, "I'm sorry, Sir…"  
>"You have nothing to be sorry for, Zhu Li!"<br>"I'm… so… pathetic…"  
>"Shh… No you're not…"<br>"I just… It's…"  
>"Shh, it'll be all right…"<br>Little by little, after Varrick whispered more sweet nothings than ever before in Zhu Li's ear, she began to calm down a little. Her sobs became tears, her tears dried out and her hitching breath quieted. He held her through all of it, kept hugging her afterwards.

Long minutes passed without a word before Zhu Li pulled away slightly, letting go of his back and looking straight into his eyes. "Varrick, I…" she began.  
>She put a hand against his heart and he took it between his own with as much gentleness as he could. Her eyes widened, filled with an emotion he had never seen. Her lips parted slightly. What a beautiful shade of pink they were. She was giving him a look of hope mixed with some shame and he squeezed her hand, trying to soothe her. She winced and jerked her hand away. "Zhu Li?"<br>"It's sore. I spilled hot tea on it."  
>"… Is that what got you so upset?"<br>"Of course not!" she said, as if the very idea that a burn on her hand could get her to cry. He stood up and offered to take her good hand to help her up.  
>"Now, where do you keep the bandages?"<br>"The medicine cabinet is here, Sir," she said and opened a small cupboard he had not even seen.  
>She took out a box of medical aid and delved into it, pulling out a big blue tube.<br>"Let me," he said before she began applying it.  
>She opened her mouth and closed it, nodding. Gently, he took her hand and looked at it. It really wasn't that bad. It was just red, with not even a single blister. No wonder she had not hurt until he squeezed the hand. It was probably just sensitive. He opened the tube, let out some cream on her palm and began rubbing it in as softly as he could, so as to not hurt her. "Does this help?" he whispered.<br>"Mmh," she nodded.  
>"Your hand is soft."<br>"Thank you, Sir."  
>He did not let go of her hand after the balm was rubbed in, not straight away. He felt that there was still more to say, but at the same time, that nothing would ever be enough to be uttered.<br>"You know you can trust me, Zhu Li."  
>She did not reply and turned her head to the side.<br>"With anything. Anything at all."  
>He waited for her to tell him about her breakdown, tell him what might make her so upset, but her mask of serious assistant had reappeared on her face and there was nothing he would get out of her. "I thank you for your kindness, Sir," she said and turned back to the sink where she poured water in the kettle to make some tea.<p>

Just as simply as that, the moment was gone. He watched as she put the kettle on the stove, the tea leaves into the kettle, the tea into the cups. "Your tea, Sir."  
>"Thank you, Zhu Li."<br>He accepted the cup and went back to his study. Working on his construction plans would be harder than ever. 


End file.
